CENTRAL, S.C. (Oct. 13) – Behind 13 service aces as a team, the Trojans registered a 3-0 sweep at Southern Wesleyan on Friday night in Conference Carolinas action.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive volleyball team improves to 13-7 this season with a 7-2 mark in league play. The Trojans claim their fifth straight win over the Warriors and prepare to face North Greenville, tomorrow, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. Meanwhile, Southern Wesleyan falls to 1-16 overall behind a 0-10 record in conference action.

Junior Karoline Cox delivered eight kills on a .353 hitting percentage with five service aces, two blocks, and two digs over three sets played. Fellow junior Ashlyn Stone also produced eight kills in the win while contributing 12 digs and two assists. Freshman Kaitlyn Landis tallied seven kills on a .333 clip with five digs on Friday. Freshman Lyndsay Reid guided the offense with 17 assists, three aces, and six digs. Senior Jenna Myer also totaled 14 assists and five digs against the Warriors.

Senior Morgan Prots led the defensive effort with 15 digs while sophomore Caroline Sheaffer registered 14 digs. The Trojans entered the contest fifth in NCAA Division II in service aces and recorded 13 aces on Friday.

In the first set, Mount Olive established an 11-5 advantage with five different players recording a kill. Southern Wesleyan cut the deficit by scoring four of the following seven points to trail by a 14-9 margin, but the Trojans countered with four consecutive points, 18-9. UMO stretched the lead to 22-11 before the Warriors mounted a 4-1 rally to close the gap to 23-15. Stone and Landis registered kills to finish the opening set, 25-15.

The Trojans built an early 8-4 lead in the second set before Southern Wesleyan answered to tie the contest, 10-10. After two more ties, Mount Olive recorded eight straight points to take a significant 21-13 advantage. SWU rallied to cut the deficit to 21-16, but UMO responded by scoring four of the final six points to take the set, 25-18.

In the third set, the Trojans took a 9-7 lead with a pair of kills from Cox and junior Callie Mullins. Mount Olive scored five unanswered points to take a 14-7 advantage, but the Warriors rallied to cut the deficit to 18-14. UMO secured the sweep after totaling seven consecutive points, including two aces from Reid, to earn the win, 25-14.

Mount Olive returns to the court on Saturday, Oct. 14, when it travels to face conference leader North Greenville, starting at 1 p.m.